Described below is an operator control system for a motor vehicle. In this case, the operator control system includes a sensing device that is designed to sense at least one body part of a user when the body part is arranged in a sensing region of the sensing device. Furthermore, the operator control system includes a control device that is designed to actuate a signal apparatus of the operator control system.
The related art discloses operator control systems that are controlled by gestures of a user inside a sensing region. To orient the user so that he can more easily find the sensing region in which he can execute a gesture to operate the operator control system, the sensing region or at least one system limit of the sensing region can be signaled or displayed to the user by a cone of light or by a beam of light, respectively.
DE 10 2013 009 567 A1 reveals a method for operating a gesture recognition device in a motor vehicle, for example. In this case, the gesture recognition device performs a gesture recognition only if a gesticulating hand is in a predetermined sub-volume of the vehicle interior. Further, the operator is assisted in locating the sub-volume by virtue of a light source shining a beam of light into the sub-volume. In this regard, the beam of light hits the hand of the operator when the hand is arranged in the sub-volume.
US 2014/0361989 A1 describes a method for operating functions in a vehicle using gestures executed in the three-dimensional space. The method includes determining whether a first gesture performed in the three-dimensional space is sensed by an image-based sensing process. The method further involves determining whether the first gesture is a gesture associated with activation of control of a function. If the relevant gestures are sensed, a function associated with the gesture is executed.
DE 10 2013 012 466 A1 reveals an operator control system for a/multiple vehicle-based apparatus(es). The operator control system includes a sensor apparatus for capturing image data from a hand in the sensing region in the sensor apparatus and for transmitting the captured image data to an evaluation apparatus. Further, the operator control system contains a memory apparatus that stores hand gestures and actions associated with hand gestures, an evaluation apparatus that evaluates the image data and a control apparatus that executes the action associated with a hand gesture.